It has often been said by weapons experts that there are very few new developments on the small arms horizon that are truly revolutionary; that we have reached a plateau. Though the G11
project is , and was certainly a harbinger of what is possible over the horizon, the G36 is a combination of old and new, tried and true that when combined makes for the further refinement of the small
arms maker's art. Instead of starting from scratch with totally new design, the engineers at HK, led by the young and rising star Ernst Mauch, through the early years of the 1990s made what was
internally called the HK50. It now carries the Bundeswehr designation G36.

A first departure from the signature HK operating system, roller delayed blowback, the G36 is gas operated.

G36

Caliber

Cyclic Rate

Mag Capacity

Modes of Fire

Width (in/mm)

Height (in/mm)

Weight (lb/kg)

bbl. length (in/mm)

Overall
Length (in/mm)

5.56 x 45

750

30/100

S/2/F

2.44

9.72

7.28

18.90

39.29

5.56 x 45

750

30/100

S/2/F

64

320

3.60

480

998

G36K

Caliber

Cyclic Rate

Mag Capacity

Modes of Fire

Width (in/mm)

Height (in/mm)

Weight (lb/kg)

bbl. length (in/mm)

Overall
Length (in/mm)

5.56 x 45

750

30/100

S/2/F

2.44

9.72

6.62

12.52

33.78

5.56 x 45

750

30/100

S/2/F

64

320

3.30

320

860

G36C

Caliber

Cyclic Rate

Mag Capacity

Modes of Fire

Width (in/mm)

Height (in/mm)

Weight (lb/kg)

bbl. length (in/mm)

Overall
Length (in/mm)

5.56 x 45

750

30/100

S/2/F

2.44

9.72

6.28

8.98

28.27

5.56 x 45

750

30/100

S/2/F

60

280

2.80

228

720

They borrowed from other tried and proven designs. There is the short gas piston reminiscent of the Kalashnikov and FAL designs. The rotating bolt of the
M16 series. The bolt carrier of the AR18. The folding stock of the FAL and SIG 550 series. But in the newest refinement of the gunmaker's art with respect to military rifles, the
extensive use of polymer throughout the rifle makes it lighter and more corrosion resistant; two qualities essential to the soldier

The G36 is a very light rifle. It is surprising how light it is when you first pick it up. As stated above, most all parts of the rifle, with the exception of
the barrel, bolt assembly and the internal rails are polymer. The G36 is available with either a dual sighting system (Pictured) or with a single 1.5 power reticle. The dual system has a
red dot sight above a 3.5 power reticle. This red dot sight is battery powered, but with a sliding window on top of the sight, ambient light can be used during the day for battery conservation